


not even one

by LiveLaughLovex



Category: The Code (TV 2019)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Future, F/M, Kid Fic, Post-Season/Series 01
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-23
Updated: 2020-03-23
Packaged: 2021-02-28 22:02:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,771
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23274421
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LiveLaughLovex/pseuds/LiveLaughLovex
Summary: When Alex's sister unexpectedly ends up in the hospital, hours away from giving birth, it's Uncle Abe and Miss Harper to the rescue.
Relationships: John "Abe" Abraham/Harper Li
Kudos: 4





	not even one

“How’d you manage to rope me into this, again?” Harper questioned from the passenger seat.

“I didn’t rope you into anything,” Abe denied, pulling into the Hunts’ driveway. “I asked if you wanted to come to the zoo with us, and you said yes.”

“I said yes because _you_ obviously wanted a buffer, and _I_ am an amazing friend,” Harper retorted, unbuckling her seatbelt. “You have been convinced for weeks now that the girls are going to hate you now that you’re not dating their mom…”

“Dani,” Abe interrupted. “Maggie’s not even two. She’s an instant fan of whoever’s willing to share their food with her.”

“… _so_ ,” Harper continued pointedly, as if he hadn’t spoken, “instead of continuing to watch you mope around the office I have to share with you, I agreed to spend my day at the zoo, completely surrounded by screaming children. Once again, I am an _amazing_ friend.”

“Yes,” Abe sighed resignedly, though his fond smile gave him away. “Yes, you are.”

“ _Thank you_ ,” Harper said. “That’s all I wanted to hear.” She opened the passenger-side door and exited the vehicle, making sure the door was closed behind her before circling around to his side of the SUV. 

“I’ll be sure to remember that,” he assured her drily, climbing from his seat and heading for the front door. “Have you really never spent time with kids?” he questioned conversationally as they approached Alex’s front stoop.

“Not that I can remember,” she replied with a shrug. “I don’t have many cousins, and they’re all older than me. My cousin Helena had a daughter a few years back, but her husband’s stationed in Bahrain, so we don’t see much of them. I don’t think I’ve seen Aria since she was a week old.”

“And she hated you?” he asked dubiously, reaching out to ring the doorbell before glancing back over at her.

“Well, I don’t think so,” she admitted hesitantly. “But she slept through my entire visit, so who knows?”

“Oh, believe me,” Abe began, amused, “if a baby doesn’t like you, they make sure you’re aware of it relatively quickly.”

“Okay, well, how about you?” she fired back. “Why’re you so _good_ with kids? They _love_ you.”

“Irish Catholic,” he reminded her. “On both sides. I grew up _surrounded_ by cousins. There was enough of an age difference that, by the time I was ten or so, they were having kids of their own. You learn pretty quickly how to get along with two-year-olds when they’re at every family event and you realize your only other option is having a toy phone thrown at you. And yes,” he replied to her unasked question, “that did actually happen to me. More than once.”

“Right. This is really boosting my confidence about spending the day with children,” she said sarcastically.

“You’ll be fine,” he promised, just as Alex opened the door, a dishrag thrown over her shoulder and a wriggly toddler balanced on her hip.

“Oh, Abe,” she sighed in relief. “And Harper,” she added, smiling warmly at the other woman. “Sorry it took so long; it’s been something of a circus around here this morning.”

“That’s alright,” Abe assured her. “Everything okay?”

“Yes,” Alex said emphatically, waving away his concern. “Yes, we’re good. We’re fine. It’s just – _Dani_!” she called up the stairs. “Uncle Abe and Miss Harper are here!” She turned back around to face them, mustering up a smile that seemed more than a little forced. “Sorry, again. She’s hit the teen years about half a decade too early, it turns out.”

“She all right?” Abe asked concernedly.

“She’s fine,” Alex said once more. “She’s just – _Danielle Josephine Hunt, if you don’t get down here right now!_ – she decided this week was the perfect time to start rebelling, that’s all.”

“Ah,” Abe nodded. “Have either of the girls eaten yet? There’s an IHOP on our way…”

“No, they haven’t,” Alex interrupted tiredly. “IHOP’s great. Dani’s going to want pancakes; that is all she ever orders from there. Maggie’s going to eat pretty much anything you put in front of her. She’s loving eggs these days. I can give you some cash for that and for lunch…”

“Don’t worry about it,” Abe cut her off before she could go back inside for her wallet. “I’ve got it covered.”

“Do they have, uh, bags?” Harper piped up tentatively.

Alex’s eyes widened slightly. “Oh! Yes, they do. Just give me a second.” She rushed back inside for a moment, returning with a diaper bag and a small camouflage backpack. “I think you should have everything you need in these,” she said, handing them over to Harper. “I’ll have my cell on me all day, though, so if you need anything…” 

“We’ll call,” Abe promised, lifting Maggie into his arms when the little girl reached for him and settling her on his hip. “Hey, kid,” he added, smiling at Dani as she appeared in the doorway.

“Hi, Uncle Abe,” Dani replied sullenly, staring down at her shoes.

“Okay, sweetie,” Alex sighed, brushing her daughter’s hair back from her face and then leaning down to kiss the top of the little girl’s head. “Be good for Uncle Abe and Miss Harper, alright?”

“I will,” Dani promised, glancing up at Harper. “Hi.”

“Hey, Dani,” Harper returned warmly. “Are you ready for the zoo?”

The little girl nodded. “Do you think the zoo in Richmond’s going to have penguins?”

“I don’t know,” Harper replied honestly. “We can look that up on our way there, okay?”

“Okay,” Dani agreed easily.

“Hey, kid, how about you go get situated in the car while Miss Harper and I wrap things up with your mom?” Abe suggested. “You can even pick our playlist for the ride over.”

“Okay! Bye, Mom!” Dani called over her shoulder, dashing for her godfather’s waiting car.

“Well,” Alex exhaled exasperatedly, shaking her head, “hopefully she’ll be in that good of a mood all day long for the two of you. Thank you again for doing this, really,” she began once more.

“Don’t worry about it,” Abe said again. “Just focus on your sister. We’ll get the girls back to you this evening, fed and in one piece.”

“Okay,” Alex sighed, offering another tired smile. “They’re inducing Kathleen in an hour. I will try my best to be back by seven, but if I’m not, I’ll make sure the babysitter is. You know where the spare key is, right?”

“I do,” Abe confirmed. “Give your sister our best.”

“I will,” Alex promised. “Seriously, though, thank you.”

“Sure,” Abe sighed, amused. It seemed he’d finally realized there was no avoiding the woman’s gratitude. He glanced down at Maggie, who’d given up on trying to follow the conversation and was instead sucking her thumb, her head resting on her honorary uncle’s shoulder. “What do you say, Miss Maggie? You ready to go see some penguins and bears?”

“And lions and tigers,” Harper offered, smiling when the little girl looked at her with wide eyes.

“Oh my,” Abe finished drily, rolling his eyes fondly when Harper simply smirked in response.

They bid farewell to Alex, then headed down the driveway. Abe bounced Maggie in his arms to make the little girl giggle, then stepped back so Harper could open the passenger-side rear door. “Okay, bug, let’s get you buckled in so we can head off to the land of pancakes.”

“ _House_ of pancakes,” Harper corrected absently, placing both of the girls’ bags in the floorboard and then checking to make sure Abe didn’t need any help before she climbed into her own seat.

“Oh, yes, because _that’s_ an important clarification,” Abe retorted sarcastically, making sure he’d correctly secured Maggie and that Dani was wearing her seatbelt. “Okay, I think we are all good back here. Miss Harper, you good up there?”

“I am,” she called back, glancing over with an amused smile as he slid behind the wheel and turned the key in the ignition, carefully backing out of the Hunts’ driveway. “Hey, Abe?” She waited until he’d glanced over at her before continuing. “Please tell me you know how to keep two kids entertained in a restaurant,” she muttered under her breath, glancing in the mirror and breathing a sigh of relief when she saw Dani wearing headphones.

“Oldest of three, remember?” he reminded her as they pulled onto the main road. “I have it under control; trust me.”

-o-

She should’ve known better than to trust him. Breakfast was absolute chaos, from beginning to end. Then again, she supposed it wasn’t actually his fault that everything that possibly could’ve gone wrong did, starting the second they were shown to their table.

“I don’t want pancakes,” Dani insisted once more, folding her arms over her chest and glaring up at her godfather.

“Then don’t get pancakes,” Abe returned patiently, gently wrestling the saltshaker away from Maggie before she could pour its contents all over their table. “There are plenty of other things on the menu, kid. Just because Miss Harper’s a purist doesn’t mean you have to be.”

“Miss Harper, what’re you getting?” Dani asked curiously, glancing away from her menu to look over at her godfather’s friend.

“Oh, your Uncle Abe was wrong. I’m not being a purist today,” Harper admitted, glancing over the menu. “I’m definitely going for the stuffed French toast.”

“That sounds good,” Dani agreed enthusiastically. “Can I get that, Uncle Abe?”

“Sure, kid,” he sighed, flashing an amused smile. “Whatever you want.”

They somehow managed to make it through the meal mostly intact, which was nothing short of a miracle. They did have several minor mishaps – Maggie decided halfway through that she would rather use her food as face paint than eat it, and Dani managed to spill half her drink on the table – but, considering how bad it could’ve gone, Harper figured they’d lucked out.

Abe grabbed the check before she could even glance in its direction, waving off her offers to pay for her own meal. “It’s fine. I’ll just, uh…” He glanced over at Maggie, wincing when he caught sight of how messy she truly was. “We should probably clean off her face before she manages to make it worse.”

“Is that even possible?” Harper muttered under her breath, pushing away from the table to stand and carefully lifting the toddler from her highchair. “I’ve got this. We’ll be fine, won’t we?” she asked the little girl animatedly, unable to bite back a smile when Maggie giggled happily. “Dani, do you need the bathroom before we leave?”

The girl shook her head. “Can I stay with you, Uncle Abe?” she requested.

“Sure, Dan,” he agreed easily, standing from the table himself and turning toward the register. “Meet you out in the parking lot?” he offered over his shoulder.

“Works for me,” she returned, adjusting her grip on Maggie before turning for the bathroom.

It took a bit of doing, but she was eventually able to rid the little girl’s face and hair of any traces of blueberries or syrup. Abe was waiting outside the SUV when she and Maggie walked out, and he reached immediately for the little girl, strapping her into her car seat like a pro and closing the door behind her.

“So,” he began with an apologetic smile, “that did not go as well as I’d originally planned. You regret coming?”

“No,” she sighed, smiling as he opened her door and moved aside so she could climb into the passenger seat. “I think you owe me ice cream, though,” she added teasingly.

“That seems fair,” he acquiesced easily, stowing Maggie’s bag behind the seat and then circling around to the other side of the vehicle. “You ready to go?” he asked once behind the wheel.

“Yeah,” she agreed, “let’s go.”

The zoo’s parking lot was packed when they arrived, which, considering it was eleven in the morning on a Saturday, was to be expected. Abe wrestled with the stroller for several minutes before she finally had mercy on him and decided to step in.

“Do you need help?” she asked after he somehow managed to nick his finger. “Because whatever you’re doing here… I’m pretty sure it’s not working, Abe.” 

“I don’t know why they keep making them more difficult to set up,” he muttered, moving aside so she could attempt to figure the contraption out.

“Safety,” she returned dryly.

(It took her less than a minute to set the stroller up properly. She tried not to smile too smugly when Abe glanced over at her disbelievingly.)

“Okay, guys,” Abe said once Maggie was safely settled in her stroller and Dani was walking a few feet ahead of them, “where to first?”

The answer was unanimously _penguins_ (Dani’s favorite animal, apparently, and also one of the few words Maggie could say somewhat clearly), and so they began the trek over to the exhibit. There were many more to see, after all, and not much time in which to see them.

“Snakes?” Harper questioned dubiously, glancing over at Abe as his eldest goddaughter pulled them in the direction of the Reptile building.

“Yeah! They’re so cool!” Dani said insistently, flashing a bright smile over at Harper that the prosecutor couldn’t help but return.

“They are, kiddo, but your sister doesn’t like them,” Abe reminded her gently.

“Oh.” Dani’s shoulders slumped. “Right.”

“Well, I can take her,” Harper offered, not even really bothering to consider the ramifications of doing so. “And then you two could go on in.”

“You sure?” Abe questioned, glancing down at the half-asleep toddler in his arms. Maggie had begun protesting the stroller about forty-five minutes into their visit and hadn’t allowed Abe to put her down since.

“I was trained by the Marine Corps, Abe,” she remarked dryly, carefully taking the sleepy little girl into her arms. “I think we can hold down the fort for half an hour.”

“Okay. Well, maybe look a little less like you’re holding a bomb instead of a baby,” he offered, a wry smile on his lips when she rolled her eyes. “C’mon, Dan. Let’s go in.”

Harper smiled after them, shaking her head in amusement as Dani continued talking to her uncle about all the species of snakes while Abe listed raptly. “Your Uncle Abe is _silly_ ,” she murmured to the toddler in her arms, grinning when Maggie nodded against her shoulder as if to agree with the statement. “Hey, there’s a bench over there,” she remarked. “You want to sit down and wait for your sister and your Uncle Abe?”

“Unca, Dan,” Maggie agreed with an approving nod.

“Well, I’m glad you approve, kid,” Harper laughed, shifting Maggie in her arms as she walked over to the bench, “because based on your sister’s levels of excitement, we will be here a while.”

-o-

Ninety minutes. That was how long it took Dani to finish looking over everything in the Reptile building. Harper wanted to be irritated by it, but, seeing the look on the little girl’s face, she was unable to muster up any real annoyance.

They fed the girls food that contained ingredients other than sugar on the way home, stopping at a park half an hour away from the house to let them run off whatever residual energy was left in them after the day’s events.

Fifteen minutes before they pulled into the Hunts’ driveway, Abe’s phone dinged, signaling a new text message. Harper reached for it, smiling at the image on the screen. “Kathleen had the baby.”

“Already?” Abe asked, glancing over at her briefly before returning his attention to the road.

“Huh,” Harper huffed a laugh. “The kid weighed almost nine pounds, Abe. I’m pretty sure she’s thinking _finally_ right now, not _already._ ”

“Fair point,” Abe allowed. “Everything okay?”

“Alex says it is,” Harper relayed. “He’s a healthy baby boy.”

“Good,” Abe exhaled with relief.

“Yeah. She’s on her way to the house now,” Harper reported. “She’s taking the girls up there to meet him tonight, so I guess our timing was perfect.”

“Yeah,” Abe muttered, glancing in his rearview before switching lanes, “I guess it was.”

They dropped the girls off with Alex, politely accepting her repeated thanks before ducking out to leave the family alone in the moment of excitement. Abe didn’t say much on the ride back to her apartment, his focus remaining primarily on the road before him.

“Look,” Harper began hesitantly, “I know we don’t talk about what happened between you and Alex, but… are you okay?”

“Yeah,” Abe replied honestly. “I’m fine.”

“Well, I just – it seemed pretty serious at the beginning, there,” Harper explained.

He huffed a laugh. “Felt like it was, at least for a while there,” he admitted. “But neither of us – we were grieving Jason,” he tried to explain. “And we hadn’t worked through that grief when we fell into bed together. He was close to both of us, and being together… I think it made us feel a little closer to him, but, in the end, our relationship was just one of the aftershocks of his death.”

“That is very poetic of you, Captain Abraham,” she complimented dryly.

“Well, you know me,” he returned sardonically, turning into her apartment complex’s parking lot. “I’m a pretty poetic guy.”

“That’s true,” she agreed easily. “I don’t understand half the stuff that comes out of your mouth.”

“Well, that’s not…” He cut himself off, shaking his head with an amused smirk. “Okay, you win this round.”

“Thank you, sir,” she sighed humbly, smiling sunnily over at him before reaching for the door handle. “I’ll see you on Monday?” she offered after a moment’s hesitation.

“I’ll see you on Monday,” he returned immediately. “Hey, Li?” he called before she could close the door behind her. “I was right, you know.”

“About what?” she asked confusedly.

“Kids _do_ like you,” he pointed out smugly.

She huffed a laugh. “Yeah,” she murmured, offering him a tentative smile, “I guess they do. I may never willingly take one to the zoo again, though,” she warned him, only half-joking.

He shrugged. “You say that now, but I’m sure another one will rope you into it eventually. Hey,” he said more seriously, “text me when you get inside, alright?”

“There’s an armed guard in the lobby, and…” She trailed off at the look on his face. “I will text you when I get inside,” she promised begrudgingly.

“Good,” he nodded once. “Goodnight, Harper.”

“’Night, Abe,” she returned, finally closing the door behind him.

She texted him five minutes later to let him know she was safely inside with the door locked behind her. _I’m still never going to a zoo with a kid ever again,_ she couldn’t help but add to the end of her message.

His vague response came exactly thirty seconds later.

_We’ll see._

Harper scoffed under her breath, amused. She supposed they would.

-o- 

**_Six Years Later_ **

“Mommy?” three-year-old Poppy Abraham piped up from the backseat. “Are we still getting pancakes?”

“Yes, sweetheart,” Harper sighed, glancing in the rearview mirror to smile warmly at her daughter. “Daddy just accidently missed his turn, so now we have to go back.”

“Oh,” Poppy replied, nodding as if this made perfect sense to her. “Daddy?” she asked a few seconds later. “Is Benny going to eat pancakes, too?”

“Not just yet, kiddo,” Abe replied, glancing in the rearview mirror to make sure it was clear before carefully switching lanes. “We want him to have a few more teeth before he joins the club.”

Poppy nodded at this, as well, glancing over at her seven-month-old brother with a confused frown. “Mommy, what’s Benny going to eat?”

“We’ll figure it out, _cara,_ ” Harper promised her daughter. “We brought some of his food from home, remember?”

“Oh.” Poppy hesitated before speaking again. “And after pancakes, we go see penguins?” she asked hopefully.

“We will,” her father promised, finally pulling into the restaurant’s parking lot. “Okay, team,” he sighed, pulling into a spot and putting the car in Park, “let’s go get some pancakes.”

Miraculously, they made it through the meal without a single catastrophe. Poppy skipped ahead of them both on the way out to the car, and Abe shook his head fondly as their eldest sang happily to herself, not perturbed in the slightest to get half the words of her favorite songs wrong. “You think the sugar high’s kicked in already?” he murmured to his wife.

“No,” Harper laughed, running a hand up and down their son’s back as the infant attempted to settle in for a nap against her shoulder. “That’s just her normal energy level. Which means that, if and when that sugar high does kick in, we won’t be sleeping for about three weeks.”

“Sleep’s overrated,” Abe offered humorously, smiling as their son buried his head against his mother’s shirt. “Sorry, buddy, I take it back. You can sleep as much as you like.”

“Hopefully he’ll sleep through the trip to the zoo,” Harper said, shifting Ben in her arms when he began wriggling about. “Especially if little lady, there, decides she wants to go into the Reptile building.”

“He’s not a big fan of slimy things, is he?” Abe agreed, holding open the rear driver-side door for her so that she could settle their youngest in his carrier.

“He does not,” Harper laughed, pressing a kiss to their son’s head before ducking out so that Abe could close the door behind her. “I don’t think he’s fully recovered from seeing that worm in the garden a few months back.”

“Whereas his sister tried to _eat_ the first earthworm she saw,” Abe muttered, shaking his head fondly as he recalled his daughter’s earlier years.

“Thank God for those fast reflexes,” Harper agreed seriously, smiling sunnily at him as he circled around to open her door for her. “Thank you, sweetheart.”

He leaned in to kiss her cheek instead of responding. “Hey,” he murmured against her skin before pulling away, “you do realize I was right all those years ago.”

“What do you mean?” she questioned confusedly.

“You’re taking kids to a zoo again,” he pointed out, laughing at the disbelieving look she shot his way.

“Yeah,” she sighed, laughing despite desperate attempts not to, “I guess I am.”

“Any regrets?” he asked teasingly.

She glanced over her seat to stare at her children, smiling warmly as Poppy reached over to adjust the blanket tucked around her little brother, then turned back to her husband, soaking in the love and warmth that always seemed to be present in his gaze. “No,” she said seriously. “Not even one.”

**Author's Note:**

> After hinting at them having babies in multiple stories in the past, I finally gave Harper and Abe children. And also made them the most amazing honorary aunt and uncle ever. I apologize for nothing. We did not see enough of Abe with Dani - or Harper with her, if I'm being honest - before the show was cancelled, so this was my remedy for that. Also, Maggie! She's so little and adorable in the first episode; I'm always so happy to get to write stuff that actually includes her.


End file.
